Coming from my own experiences, my autism has been an enormous stumbling block, just like Will with Quadriplegia. But what I learned over time, is that what I thought was holding me back was actually setting me up for something better, such as my book on growing up autistic that currently has a 4.5-star rating on Amazon. But it doesn’t end there. Do you think Stephen Hawking would have inspired others had he decided to end his life after losing his muscular capabilities? Do you think that Roger Ebert would still be remembered as a well-respected movie critic if he killed himself after losing his jaw? What about Abraham Lincoln? Would our nation still be a slave-free country if he chose to end it after meeting a failure on the job? The devastating thing is, this movie proves that people don’t quite understand the value of a disability.
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Maybe Me Before You isn’t promoting the best solution on how to deal with physical and mental impairments, but there is one thing that it gets right: the portrayal of what it does to a person.

We are all familiar with the societal fight to shine a stronger, more inspirational light on the LGBTQ community, as The Imitation Game reflects, but this movie also depicts a more subliminal, and more important concept about the historical figure Alan Turing, autism’s influence on history.

Although it’s never said in the movie, as autism was a newly coined disorder at the time, Alan Turing displays many symptoms of autism and Asperger’s syndrome. He rarely associates with others, he gets obsessive over his interests, he can’t understand a joke, he trembles in his speech, and he freaks out when the peas on his plate are touching the carrots. These are all common traits of ASD, and in my belief were intentionally placed by the director and screenwriter to suggest how Alan Turing was not only gay, but autistic as well.

It’s not every day you hear of somebody on the autism spectrum following an ambition to change the course of history under the secrecy of the government, but these types of stories are happening all around us, and where we never knew to look.

What really stood out to me about this movie is the parallel that the creature has to anyone who seems to be a misfit to society. Sure enough, throughout the film, those ties are made, as several of the story’s heroes are misfits to 1960’s Baltimore: one is mute, one is a Black woman, one is a closet homosexual, and they’re the ones who connect the most with the creature’s condition. In fact, with the main character, Elisa, she shares quite a few similarities to people on the autism spectrum.
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The most noticeable trait from when we first meet her is that she keeps a specific morning routine that we see her repeat to the dime. First, she prepares a bunch of eggs in boiling water, and as she waits for them to finish, she takes a bath, specifically because it sexually arouses her. After her hardboiled eggs are done, she speaks to one of her only real friends, the struggling artist from next door who is a closet homosexual. Then she takes the bus to work, using her cap as a pillow to rest against the window. Then once she arrives at work, she cuts in line to punch her time card in. Outside of work, her neighbor likes to take her out to a key lime pie, which she keeps having to remind him that she hates the taste of. Although she can’t speak, the two find a way to bond by watching TV.

Click here to read my review of Inside Out.​
“Cheer up! Stay positive! Always look on the bright side of life!” Wherever we go, at home, at school, or at work, we are always pressed upon by our peers and media to keep up a grin as a solution to hard times. Anything besides happy, we are expected to think that something is wrong with us. If we get angry, we get called aggressive. If we are disgusted, we get called judgmental. If we are fearful, we get called cowardly. If we are sad, we get called negative.

What Inside Out teaches us is that we have multiple emotions for a reason: each one makes up who we are, that means we should not feel ashamed to express tears of sorrow when necessary. No matter what our surroundings try to tell us, it is not always a good thing to keep a happy face. It’s even more important that we make sure people with ASD understand this.

With every situation of moving or switching schools, all sorts of emotional upsets overwhelm a savant’s mind like an overfilled glass continuing to be filled.

With all these comic book movies dominating the box office and pop culture, anyone not yet matured could quickly assume that being a hero means possessing supernatural abilities and resorting to violence to solve problems. To you it may not sound like much, but considering how life imitates art and vice versa, this could be seen as a definite contributor to the rise of violence in our nation, and the feel of not being good enough because you don’t have “superpowers.”

This is why the story of Desmond Doss is a lifesaver: his story shows us all what it really takes to be a hero. No more of that supernatural powers to inflict damage nonsense, this real life hero is an average guy with nothing too special about him, and won’t even dream of firing a bullet for any reason. Yet despite not having any weapon of protection on the war field, he still saved many lives through his love and commitment to his service.

More people, particularly those with autism, need to understand the value Doss’s story offers to the well-being of the 21st century. He proves to every man, woman, and soldier that you don’t have to resort to violence to be a hero, but rather that being a hero is all about helping people and saving lives. Those on the autism spectrum need to understand how good, strong heroism starts with who they’re lead to look at as role models.

Click here to read my review of this movie.
​One of the most dangerous things about movies is that they are commonly the first reaction a viewer gets on what the real world is like. Especially with younger kids, it’s their first glimpse at reality before they step into it. With the case of Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, it is offering a false reality about how love and sex ought to be treated from the inspiration of a true story that started as a joke. The movie right from the beginning admits it’s not quite true to the real story, and even the real Mike and Dave have said on Jimmy Kimmel that it’s hard to say how much of the film is accurate, but they estimate about 80%.

The point being, reality is dangerously skewed in its adaptation to film. There is a scene in this movie where a Pacific Islander masseuse strips himself naked, oils himself, and massages the bride’s naked body with his own body, specifically emphasizing the butt area. If something like this was really happening, it would quickly be considered rape. Her fiancé does find out about it later, but it’s in a moment that’s played for laughs to make him look stupid. The lesson: you can go out and have the best orgasms of your life, and nobody has that right to stop you. Then anyone seeing this is going to subliminally pick up that message and mimic the behavior in real life.

You may relate to the countless individuals in the world who misunderstand autism. Well today, I will give you an easy parallel to autism: Mutants. Yes, the mutants in the X-Men universe share similarities to autism.
​Six-Word Lessons for Dads with Autistic Kids, Lesson #12: They May Have Very Obsessive Interests.

Each of the X-Men are abnormally strong at one skill; Logan/Wolverine possesses physical strength and endurance as well as claws used for fighting, while Professor X has phenomenal mind-bending powers. Likewise, somebody with autism could have a “freakish” advanced skill, including math, memorization, art, or anything else.

In Logan, the border patrol wanted to take advantage of the mutants’ skills to become future weapons. While an autistic scenario looks a little different, abnormal traits still leave individuals on the spectrum as easily susceptible to being used by someone else. For example, others I knew in high school took advantage of my autism by mocking my ridiculous mentality to sound funny for their friends.

Like I said in my review, Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman work together in an effort that pays off in the end; so I for certain respect the care put into creating such an emotional feature. However, we should understand the dated representation of autism in Rain Man.
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Raymond for the most part accurately depicts the truth about autism, except more to influence Charlie’s story than to give a hopeful view of someone with extra difficulties. Raymond’s dialogue composes mostly of: “Yeah.” “Definitely.” “Uh-oh.” “I’m an excellent driver.” He must keep everything throughout the week at a strict schedule—even when in Vegas, the bed must always be next to the window.

Raymond’s mental development causes a lot of inner confusion, so he always stares into space while swaying on his feet, listening only half the time. Then whenever he senses something awful could happen to him, he erupts into dangerous outbursts and self-abuse.

Click here to read my review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.​​
When around his beasts, Newt openly understands their needs, laying on them both a gentle hand and a firm discipline. However, when around people, Newt’s speech turns quiet, words and eye contact kept to a minimum. Like Newt, many autistic individuals too obsess over an abnormal strength, unfortunately at the cost of forming easy people relationships.

Newt proved throughout Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that he’s hard to trust because he underestimates the severity of certain situations. Newt most wants to convince the wizarding community that these fantastic beasts aren’t dangerous, and of course, they are certainly dangerous, as the Erumpent and Occamy both cause extreme property damage. Likewise, due to misunderstanding instructions or underestimating situations, some neurotypicals can have trust issues with those on the autism spectrum.

Click here to read my review of Finding Dory.
Click here to see my ranking of all of Pixar's films.

To tell the truth, I originally feared Finding Dory would become the writers taking advantage of nostalgic fan service to exploit the comedy within the famous tang’s short-term memory loss. You know what though? Finding Dory actually showed quite a bit of the tragedy behind her condition.

While the film does at times play off her disability for laughs, Dory’s disability still comes off as a hindrance in the road to her survival. Yet she eventually recalls some memories by other relatable objects or phrases, such as a path of seashells pointed back home.

I too feel deprived of the same conveniences as my peers due to mental drawbacks; it often takes me longer to register a person’s transparent emotions, and I sometimes say something unintentionally offensive to another. As a teenager, you could almost wonder if I had any control at all over my inappropriate verbal comments. My autism especially made it a challenge for me to understand the rules of friendship; today I am still figuring out the science behind it.